Many artists prefer to use live models, instead of images, as their references. If that wasn’t true, then live modelling would have died with the advent of the Internet—if not the camera—but it hasn’t. I’m not sure why artists have this preference, but they demonstrably do.
I’m not sure how much this matters and I’m not 100% sure this effect is real (it’s the sort of thing I could have just psy-op’d myself into believing). But, as an artist: there’s a difference between live models and pictures is that the live models force a subtle skill of… like, converting the 3D shape into a 2D one.
This is sort of like the difference between lifting free weights vs lifting weights at a machine. There’s a bunch of little subtle micromovements you have to make when free-weight-lifting whereas the machine isolates a given muscle. When you are looking at a real person, your head rocks back and forth, choosing exactly which 2D plane you are copying is subtly more difficult than when copying from a picture.
If you never intend to draw from life, then, I wouldn’t argue this matters that much. A lot of it might be a particular culture of art. But, I’m like 75% there’s a difference.
Many artists prefer to use live models, instead of images, as their references. If that wasn’t true, then live modelling would have died with the advent of the Internet—if not the camera—but it hasn’t. I’m not sure why artists have this preference, but they demonstrably do.
I’m not sure how much this matters and I’m not 100% sure this effect is real (it’s the sort of thing I could have just psy-op’d myself into believing). But, as an artist: there’s a difference between live models and pictures is that the live models force a subtle skill of… like, converting the 3D shape into a 2D one.
This is sort of like the difference between lifting free weights vs lifting weights at a machine. There’s a bunch of little subtle micromovements you have to make when free-weight-lifting whereas the machine isolates a given muscle. When you are looking at a real person, your head rocks back and forth, choosing exactly which 2D plane you are copying is subtly more difficult than when copying from a picture.
If you never intend to draw from life, then, I wouldn’t argue this matters that much. A lot of it might be a particular culture of art. But, I’m like 75% there’s a difference.
Ooh, I think that the weight-lifting analogy is very apt. Thanks for the insight.